jointer profiling
Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp
jointer profiling
has anyone ever used a jointer to profile. it seems like it could be much simpler than my current planer method. say you want to profile from 12 down to 2 mm, you just set the front table 10mm below the back table (back flush with cutter). Then you set your core down, lining up the point where you want the taper to start with the cutter. Now just feed the board. This is merely a theory as I have never owned a jointer...any thoughts?
I think you have to develop that theory a little bit...you shouldn't go for 10mm directly. it sounds scary when you are close to 2mm. Keep your fingers away!
I can see what you mean, and I've seen this being done on shorter and more robust pieces. Like table legs..
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1x ... directlink
In my world, and I should say that I'm far (very) from beeing a woodworking expert, a jointer is to make things parallell or straight.
But I'm not to judge. Keep up the exploring work! It keeps this community alive!
I can see what you mean, and I've seen this being done on shorter and more robust pieces. Like table legs..
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1x ... directlink
In my world, and I should say that I'm far (very) from beeing a woodworking expert, a jointer is to make things parallell or straight.
But I'm not to judge. Keep up the exploring work! It keeps this community alive!
Doesn't sound very practical
I think it would be difficult to get acceptable results with this method. Tapering to 2 or 3 mm would probably be difficult. I think you would encounter flexing issues, difficulties in maintaining consistent pressure, tearout, and snipe. You wouldn't be able to do it in one pass.
Give it a shot with a scrap board and let us know the results. I am always interested in new profiling techniques as this is the least favorite part of ski building for me. Don't forget to use a push block!
Give it a shot with a scrap board and let us know the results. I am always interested in new profiling techniques as this is the least favorite part of ski building for me. Don't forget to use a push block!
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skidesmond
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You can make a core using jointer. I had been thinking about this for awhile. I use a planer crib. The crib works well but is heavy and I need to either design an adjustable crib for different length skis, make a few cribs or use a jointer. Could also use a band saw like OAC but I don't have one.
So I started playing around with some scrap wood and the jointer to create a taper. I've used jointers before to make tapered table legs so I know it can be done. Tapering down to 2-3mm is scary.
Here's how I did my test piece. I marked off where I wanted the taper to start. I used that mark to place the wood over the jointer blades and then pushed the wood over the blades. On the next pass I did the same thing. Make sure you apply firm downward pressure on the tapered side. I'm assuming all jointers you push the wood from right to left. So always keep downward pressure on the right side of the table. After a couple passes you'll see the taper start to develop. DON'T TRY TO DO IT IN 1 PASS OR EVEN A FEW PASSES, WAY TO DANGEROUS! You stand a good chance of losing fingers. Take 1 mm or so off at a time and push the wood slow and steady.
The wood I tested with was only 1 inch wide so it wasn't a real core. It's scary as hell pushing the wood over the jointer blades. Be sure to use push blocks. I have a Grizzly jointer and it came with 2 push blocks with foam pads to help grip the wood surface as you push the wood over the blades.
Now that I think about it, maybe use a scrap piece of wood on top of the core to act as a buffer from your fingers and the blades. It's pretty scary when you get down to 2-3mm.
One draw back is you probably can't use this method if you're using full wood cores (i.e. no tip/tail spacers) But if you are using spacers it will work fine.
Another possible drawback, depending on core design, is that you get a steady taper from point A to point B. If your core design is anything different than that, you'll have to sand or somehow tweak the cores final design.
On the plus side no heavy planer crib to lug around. Since I screwed my back up over the winter (almost back to normal) I've thought about making a cart on wheels to catch the crib as it comes out of the planer, wheel it back to the other side, and feed the crib back through the planer. Very little lifting involved.
So I started playing around with some scrap wood and the jointer to create a taper. I've used jointers before to make tapered table legs so I know it can be done. Tapering down to 2-3mm is scary.
Here's how I did my test piece. I marked off where I wanted the taper to start. I used that mark to place the wood over the jointer blades and then pushed the wood over the blades. On the next pass I did the same thing. Make sure you apply firm downward pressure on the tapered side. I'm assuming all jointers you push the wood from right to left. So always keep downward pressure on the right side of the table. After a couple passes you'll see the taper start to develop. DON'T TRY TO DO IT IN 1 PASS OR EVEN A FEW PASSES, WAY TO DANGEROUS! You stand a good chance of losing fingers. Take 1 mm or so off at a time and push the wood slow and steady.
The wood I tested with was only 1 inch wide so it wasn't a real core. It's scary as hell pushing the wood over the jointer blades. Be sure to use push blocks. I have a Grizzly jointer and it came with 2 push blocks with foam pads to help grip the wood surface as you push the wood over the blades.
Now that I think about it, maybe use a scrap piece of wood on top of the core to act as a buffer from your fingers and the blades. It's pretty scary when you get down to 2-3mm.
One draw back is you probably can't use this method if you're using full wood cores (i.e. no tip/tail spacers) But if you are using spacers it will work fine.
Another possible drawback, depending on core design, is that you get a steady taper from point A to point B. If your core design is anything different than that, you'll have to sand or somehow tweak the cores final design.
On the plus side no heavy planer crib to lug around. Since I screwed my back up over the winter (almost back to normal) I've thought about making a cart on wheels to catch the crib as it comes out of the planer, wheel it back to the other side, and feed the crib back through the planer. Very little lifting involved.